


[un]STABLE

by sprucewoodcottage (ironmermaidens)



Category: Hermitcraft
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, fusion au, the wither forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 01:57:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18273464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironmermaidens/pseuds/sprucewoodcottage
Summary: Xisuma meets Evil X in The Wither Forest. Things go alright for a minute, until they don't anymore.Based on @team-star-ghast-cannon's Fusion AU.





	[un]STABLE

Xisuma tread cautiously through the forest overgrowth, passing another sign that warned of the danger ahead in a hasty scrawl that was no doubt left behind by Joe. He adjusted his grip on his diamond sword and let out a breath.

 

“Not too far now,” he said to the air around him.

 

His goal for the day was simple: kill a couple Withers. He didn’t think he’d be able to kill them all, of course. That would be absurd. Just a few to weaken The Hivemind a bit, until the next time he felt like braving the Wither Forest. Every hermit was welcome to chip in, but he felt a sense of obligation to the job. The fight had been his idea, after all.

 

The forest around him began to smolder black, and he knew he was just about there. He could just make out the shape of a figure ahead of him by the edge of the pit and he lifted his sword in preparation. “Here goes nothing!”

 

Xisuma launched himself forward towards the figure, sword aloft to slash what he presumed to be a Wither, only to dig his heels into the dirt and gravel beneath his feet when he realized it was not a Wither by the edge of the pit, but a person.

 

“Wh–” he started, before realizing who it was. “You! I thought I banned you from the island!”

 

Evil X turned his gaze from the distant swirl of the Wither Tornado to face Xisuma, face obscured up to his eyes by his helmet, but somehow Xisuma knew he was smirking beneath it.

 

“You really thought that’d keep me away for long?” He turned back to the pit. “I was just admiring your handiwork, Xisuma. All this time trying to destroy the server when I could have just left you to your own devices to do it for me!”

 

Xisuma huffed. “Excuse me! Destroy the server? That’s not what this was for.”

 

“Could have fooled me.” Evil X responded.

 

“I’m here to clean up this mess,” Xisuma said, ignoring the irritation that bubbled up at Evil X’s words. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and help me?”

 

“Why would I want to do something like that?” Evil X raised a brow, barely visible behind his visor.

 

“Oh, come on. And let me get all the credit for destroying the server?” Xisuma said slyly. He felt a flutter of satisfaction when Evil X narrowed his eyes at him, and pressed on. “That’s right, Xisuma the Destroyer of Worlds. Succeeded where Evil Xisuma failed, and he didn’t even do it on purpose!”

 

Evil X growled. “Pah! As if this pathetic display could really destroy the server. They’ve barely even destroyed this forest!”

 

“What’s that? Is that a hint of jealously I hear in your voice?” Xisuma taunted.

 

“It is not.” Evil X said sharply.

 

“Isn’t it?”

 

“It’s not!”

 

“It is!” Xisuma chortled. “You’re jealous!”

 

Evil X turned away in a huff.

 

“Don’t be like that, now!” Xisuma said. “If I were to let the server be destroyed—and that’s a very big if—I would of course let you do the honors.”

 

“Don’t patronize me!”

 

“I’m not patronizing, I’m being honest!”

 

A horrible explosion interrupted the two’s bickering. Evil X whipped around in time to see Xisuma being knocked to the ground by a wither skull, his sword slipping from his fingers and into the pit. Evil X turned to see a wither approaching, having drifted away from the collective without either of them noticing. There was another blast as the stray Wither shot another skull in their direction. Xisuma sat up from where he lay on the ground, but he was moving too slowly, too disoriented to get up and out of the way of the second skull.

 

“Xisuma, look out!” Evil X shouted as he ran to his counterpart’s side, hoisting him up and out of the way as the skull made impact, knocking the two into the pit. He held onto Xisuma tightly, afraid of what might happen to him if he let go.

 

There was light, white and brilliant, and in the next moment, Evil X and Xisuma were no more.

 

When the light dissipated only a single figure remained, a composite of the two men, armor a dull green-brown instead of the fiery red or bright green that his components donned. He righted himself in his fall, feet connecting with the sloping edge of the pit and slid down the stone to where Xisuma’s discarded sword lay, sweeping it up as he passed. Then he swung his torso around to face the stray Wither, who continued to pursue its targets despite the two now being one. The wither shot another skull at him, and he ducked below it, then dodged sideways out of the path of a second.

 

“This would be a lot easier with a bow,” the composite X said, gritting his teeth. “What kind of idiot doesn’t bring a bow to a Wither fight?”

 

As soon as the words left his mouth, his chest set on fire, atoms burning to escape one another, to split apart, shaking the very foundation of his being and sending him to his knees. At the same moment the stray Wither jittered, then suddenly popped a bit to the left. He was closer to the Tornado now, although The Hivemind still hadn’t noticed him.

 

“Right,” he muttered, clambering back to his feet. “Arrows don’t work here.”

 

The stray paused for a moment before popping a bit closer to X again and he shifted his stance, sliding one foot further behind himself before launching himself forward, as Xisuma had done to Evil X not too long ago. Before the Wither could prepare another attack, he was upon it, leaping up to meet it mid-air with a sword through its middle, slicing upwards until the thing was split entirely in half. The two halves fell away from one another before disappearing in a puff of smoke, a nether star appearing in one cloud and a wither skull appearing in the other. X ignored them both, instead turning his attention to the steep wall of the pit that stood between him and his freedom from the Wither Forest.

 

He had a climb ahead of him.

 

“Wonderful…” He sighed.

 

———————

 

It was nightfall when X finally reached the shopping district. Though the journey from the Wither Forest wouldn’t normally take so much of the day, he had long since felt himself trying to unravel. One half of him wanted nothing more than to fall apart, to separate, but the other clung desperately onto his existence. It wasn’t so bad, in the beginning, but the longer he was himself, the more he felt his atoms tugging at him in opposite directions. He had to stop every few paces to catch his breath and literally hold himself together. The shopping district was one of the more well-lit parts of the island, but it was still far from safe. He had to get somewhere that he would be protected from the mobs that took advantage of every sliver of darkness present.

 

Every step towards his goal was more laborious than the previous. His goal was in sight now, though he didn’t feel as if he could make it no matter how closely within his reach it was. The light in the office of Doc’s Instant Repair Shop shined brighter than a beacon to him, and he imagined the look on Doc’s face when he found the fusion at the base of the stairs, huffing and puffing like he’d just run a marathon. Or maybe he’d find two Xisuma’s there, a red one standing over a green one like a murderer above his victim.

 

The very thought made him come undone then, tearing him apart like wet paper, tossing Evil X aside and Xisuma onto the ground like a discarded ragdoll. Evil X landed on his feet and immediately put his hands to his knees, breathing so heavily his visor fogged up along the bottom. Xisuma curled up on his side, panting and holding his chest where the wither skull had hit him.

 

The two were silent for a moment, save for the sound of their breathing. Then from the ground, Xisuma wheezed. “Ow…”

 

“What did you do that for?!” Evil X shouted, glaring at Xisuma, who had not yet uncurled.

 

“What did I do that for? What did you do that for? What were you thinking, fusing like that?” Xisuma shot back weakly. “You know it’s not good for us…”

 

“Well excuse me for saving your life!” Evil X said. “It would have been a lot easier if you hadn’t spent the whole time trying to tear us apart like that.”

 

“Forgive me if I wasn’t entirely in my right mind at the time. I was feeling a little under the weather.” Xisuma let out a wheeze that might have been laughter under better circumstances. “Or under the wither, as it so happens.”

 

Evil X groaned. “For heaven’s sake Xisuma–”

 

Xisuma coughed, cutting off whatever Evil X was about to say to him. Instead of reprimanding his counterpart, Evil X found himself skidding down on his knees beside the man to check on him.

 

“You’re still withered!” Evil X said as he hooked his arms under Xisuma’s, lifting him up with a grunt. Xisuma was right about one thing: fusing wasn’t good for them. Not together. It might not weaken Evil X as much as it did Xisuma, but it still left him struggling to lift his counterpart to standing. He got Xisuma sitting up, but he felt the strain in his muscles. If he tried to get him on his feet they’d both end up on the ground. Evil X released his hold, standing up and looking for some sign of what to do now. His eyes fell on the Instant Repair Shop, where he could just make out a shadow moving around in the light of the office window. There!

 

Evil X jerked his head around, trying to find something he could use to alert the shadow to their presence, but the path was entirely free of debris. There was really only one option here. Evil X turned back to Xisuma, who was slumped over breathing heavy, and grabbed his helmet, yanking it off the other man’s head.

 

“Hey!” Xisuma yelped, reaching up to try and slap the helmet out of Evil X’s hands, although his flails came nowhere near their target. Evil X pulled back his arm, winding up to throw the helmet at the window. He lined up the shot, took a breath, and threw.

 

The window shattered on impact. Evil X could hear a startled yell from within the shop, then the shadow moved to lean out the window, holding the helmet in one hand and the window sill in the other.

 

“Xisuma, what the hell are you doing, throwing your helmet through my window?!” Doc called out.

 

“Get out here and help me!” Evil X shouted back.

 

“Evil…?” Doc’s voice dropped off before the statement was even completed. He disappeared from the window, and moments later reappeared at the entrance, jogging over to the pair.

 

“What are you doing, throwing Xisuma’s helmet through my window?” Doc repeated the question as he approached, directed this time at Evil X with a harsh look.

 

“He’s withered and I can’t get him up. I need your help.” Evil X explained, wasting no time on preamble. Doc took the hint, although he didn’t look happy about it. He moved to Xisuma’s left side and Evil X took his right, each of them draping one of Xisuma’s arms over their shoulders before lifting him off the ground.

 

“I feel like an invalid.” Xisuma moaned miserably.

 

“Quit acting like one and you won’t anymore,” Evil X chided. Doc hummed low in his throat, a warning, and Evil X quieted. Now wasn’t the time to pick fights. Xisuma needed their help.

 

They half-dragged, half-walked Xisuma into the front entrance of the Instant Repair Shop. Xisuma’s head lulled back to look at the window that was smashed.

 

“You know I’m going to have to fix that, right?” he said pointedly to his counterpart.

 

“Don’t worry about that right now. It’s not important.” Doc dismissed, pulling the two Xisumas through the door to his office and up the stairs.

 

“Over there,” Doc said, nodded towards the chair at his desk. They dragged Xisuma to it, dropping him unceremoniously down into it where he flopped bonelessly into a position that only looked moderately uncomfortable. Doc grimaced.

 

“What were you two doing out there? Why is Xisuma withered? Why isn’t he dead?” Doc asked, turning to give Evil X a suspicious look.

 

“We were at the Wither Forest and were attacked. We fused. We came here.” Evil X responded shortly, tone cold. The last thing he wanted right now was to be interrogated by Doc. As if the hermit would believe him anyway. “I’ve done my part. Got Xisuma inside. I’ll be out of your hair, then. Don’t worry about me.”

 

Evil X turned on his heel, stalking towards the door.

 

“Wait…” Xisuma called out softly. Evil X stopped in the doorway. “Thank you for the help.”

 

“…Don’t let it go to your head.”


End file.
